Background

Malcolm Forbes was born on August 19, 1919 in Englewood, New Jersey, United States; the son of Adelaide Mary (Stevenson) and a financial journalist and author B. C. Forbes.

Education

Forbes graduated from the Lawrenceville School in 1937 and Princeton University.

Career

A savvy businessman by all accounts, Forbes inherited his wealth from his father, B. C. (Bertie) Forbes, who established him at the Fairfield Times newspaper as owner and publisher only days after his graduation from Princeton. He went on to publish the Lancaster Tribune in 1942, and four years later, after a stint in the Army on the European front of World War II, he joined the staff at Forbes magazine. He was first an associate publisher, then publisher, editor, editor-in-chief, vice-president, and, finally, president. Forbes's flamboyant consumerism served the firm well, and his enthusiastic spending habits earned him the nickname "the happiest millionaire. "

As a politician, Forbes was less than successful; he said that he was "nosed out by a landslide" in a New Jersey race for governor in 1957.

Achievements

• Under his direction "Forbes" grew from a circulation of 100, 000 to 720, 000; he also founded Nation’s Heritage magazine and Egg, a journal for art lovers. Forbes gave millions of dollars each year to charities.
  
  During World War II, Forbes received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. He was inducted to the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2008, he was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

Works

More photos

• book

  • More Than I Dreamed/a Lifetime of Collecting

    (This glimpse into the extraordinary world of the flamboya...)

  • The Sayings of Chairman Malcolm: The Capitalist's Handbook

    (Tycoon, balloonist, and individualist Forbes offers serio...)

  • Women Who Made a Difference

    (Details the lives of one hundred remarkable women who cha...)

  • How to Use the Power of the Printed Word

    (Essays tell how to write a business letter, improve one's...)

  • They went that-a-way: How the famous, the infamous, and the great died

    (Offers 150 brief profiles of the demise of the rich and f...)

  • Around the World on Hot Air and Two Wheels

    (The author describes his good will trips to Russia, China...)

  • What Happened to Their Kids: Children of the Rich and Famous

    (Explores the fate of children of celebrities--the daughte...)

  • THE FORBES SCRAPBOOK OF THOUGHTS ON THE BUSINESS LIFE: 2 Volumes BOXED SET

    (Publisher: Forbes Inc. (1976) Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6...)

Views

Quotations: "People who stare deserve the looks they get. "

"Those who act as if they know more than their boss seldom do. "

"One often reads about the art of conversation-how it’s dying or what’s needed to make it flourish, or how rare good ones are. But wouldn’t you agree that the infinitely more valuable rara avis is a good listener?"

Personality

The entire world knew how old Malcolm Forbes was when he died in 1990; extensive press coverage of his lavish 70th (and last) birthday party thrown in Morocco in September of 1989 insured that everyone who had not been invited would know what they had missed. Forbes added some fuel to the flames by suggesting that the party be tax-deductible, as it was for business purposes. His company, Forbes Inc. , actually did pay for the party, just as it would pay for any publicity campaign.

Forbes was loath to put a real figure to his income and holdings, though he published practically everybody else's value. Early in 1990, the New York Post estimated Forbes's holdings by toting up his collections, houses, and publications, but as Timemagazine reported it, the estimates were generous. Peoplemagazine lists eight houses, a palace in Tangier, Morocco, a chateau in Normandy and the island of Lauthala in Fiji as his dwellings.

Characterized as a man who loved the spotlight, who shamelessly enjoyed the privileges his money afforded him, and who was always in pursuit of adventure, Forbes was a balloonist, a motorcyclist, and a sailor who took many trips on his huge yacht, the "Highlander. " He collected anything precious and beautiful, most famously, Faberge eggs.

Forbes was often seen in the company of movie star Elizabeth Taylor, and the two answered speculation about an impending marriage by saying that they were merely good friends.

Quotes from others about the person

• "He was so many things to so many of us. Boss, bon vivant, raconteur, balloonist, columnist, happiest millionaire, leader of the pack. .. source, mentor, friend, super this, mega that, father, grandfather, father-in-law, uncle, cousin and sparkling, naughty boy. "
  
  "Malcolm is a billionaire, but only if you swallow an estimate of $65 million for his flagship magazine's annual profits. "
  
  "Malcolm Forbes was a giant of American business. His success in publishing reflected the tremendous vitality of our nation and served to inform and inspire a generation of successful business leaders. He was greatly admired and will be greatly missed. " - George Bush
  
  "Malcolm was truly a dear friend and we will miss him sorely. We hold our memories of him close to our hearts and are thankful to have known him. " - Ronald Reagan

Connections

He divorced his wife Roberta Remsen Laidlaw in 1985. As Malcolm, Jr. , explained in Forbes, his parents still loved each other but could no longer live together.

Father:

Bertie Charles Forbes

Wife:

Roberta Remsen Laidlaw

Son:

Malcolm Stevenson Forbes

politician, publisher

Son:

Tim Forbes

Son:

Christopher Forbes

publisher

References

• Malcolm Forbes: Peripatetic millionaire